U S Wealth Group LLC. Makes New $2.62 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

U S Wealth Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,000. BlackRock comprises about 2.0% of U S Wealth Group LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 7.4 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $822.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $968.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $992.74. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $127.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,130.85.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.